Why?
by Illusion of Love
Summary: Everyone believed Naruto Uzumaki to be dead. That is, until he came back. Rated T to be safe. SasuNaru
1. Only Memories Left

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (tear)

The rain was falling, again, for the twelfth day in a row. Sasuke looked with dead eyes at the memorial stone as the tears of families of fallen shinobi washed away with the rain. The dark clouds over Konoha haven't left since an unexpected occurrence happened twelve days ago.

"Damn these clouds," Sasuke said aloud to himself. Who was he kidding? This wasn't something he could just pass off and forget about. His face remained as emotionless as ever, but with every step he took, it felt like more and more weight was being placed on his heart. He even felt like crying, if it weren't for that suspicious feeling that would plague his mind whenever his mind would drift back to…him. Naruto.

Naruto Uzumaki, the number one hyperactive ninja of the village hidden in the leaves, and Sasuke's best friend, had died. That horrible feeling in his heart and in his stomach, like the feeling he got when his family was killed, returned again. He felt like he could be sick, but the sickness did not pass. Although something had troubled Sasuke ever since it happened. It was a known fact that Tsunade cared about the kid like her son, and fellow ninjas have learned to work well with Naruto, but none really seemed concerned about it.

Sasuke had never once even seen her shed a tear, or even delay on work that needed to be done. It appeared that only the sky would cry for Naruto. Speaking of the kid himself also brought other disturbing factors to Sasuke's attention. No cause of death had been mentioned and there was no body! Not even a funeral. Of course Sasuke had considered the fact that his body could have been in such bad condition that a funeral would not be appropriate (like the one of the Third Hokage), but didn't Naruto's friends deserve a chance to say goodbye? To pay their last respects? Looking at the stone in front of him, it did not bear Naruto's name. The name of a hero. The first one that would give his life for the people of his village. Didn't he deserve it?

Footsteps behind him made Sasuke jump, but only slightly.

"Sasuke you're crying," Sakura said as Sasuke turned to face her.

Reaching his had to his cheek, he had no idea when the tears had started to flow, but the heat of his tears was soothing to his face.

"I can't make them stop. You'll have to bear with me," he said facing the stone again.

"I miss him too," Sakura said standing next to him, her hand on his shoulder. Mind you, Sakura had long given up on Sasuke, and had become pretty good friends with Naruto. The blow of his death had affected her deeply as well, but not as much as Sasuke. The rain continued to fall as the sky showed its remorse for its lost soldier. Sakura and Sasuke just remained in silence, nothing left but the memories now.


	2. Nightmares of the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Please leave reviews if you like it!! It motivates me to continue because I'm lazy!!

Memories/ Dreams are in Italics!!- not to be confused with thoughts 

"_Naruto! To your right!" Sasuke yelled to Naruto while trying to defend himself from what seemed like thousands of kunai. Naruto turned, face changing from his normal determined face, to a look of pure shock. His opponent had used a clone jutsu and was right on top of him, kunai in hand. Naruto quickly reached for his weapons holster, but was not fast enough. The other ninja slashed a cut right across Naruto's chest, right on top of his heart, and landed a devastating blow with his other hand, causing Naruto to blown back several feet. Automatically, Naruto raised a hand to his chest, gasping at the pain that was replacing the blood now flowing into his hand._

"_Naruto!" cried Sasuke, who in the meantime had used his Sharingan to take down his rival. Naruto raised his head to reveal a completely emotionless face that seemed unaffected by the pain. Despite the blood that was pooling by Naruto's head as he lay on the ground, or even that there was an extremely deadly ninja still out in the forest ready to attack them, one thing affected Sasuke to a point where it made his heart ache. Naruto's eyes, usually shining bright with life, energy, and determination, looked so dead. _

_The eyes that looked back at Sasuke where so fearful and sad, so lifeless, that it didn't even look like Naruto anymore. Above Naruto in a nearby tree, the enemy had made himself visible again, throwing a kunai directly at Naruto's heart, to finish what he had started. _

"_Naruto!" Sasuke cried again, sprinting at full speed for his teammate._

"Naruto," Sasuke said sitting straight up in his bed. He felt hot; sweat making his hair stick to his forehead. It was still dark outside, and all was quiet except for the ticking of the clock in his room. He threw off the covers, chills running down his spine as his feet touched the cold floor. Glancing at the clock, it was four o'clock in the morning as usual. Sasuke walked up to his dresser and pulled out his normal attire; a black shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back, along with a pair of black pants. He placed them on his bed and went into the bathroom.

Looking into the mirror, his reflection was disappointing compared to his image two years ago. Back then he was the great Uchiha, a good-looking boy who many envied. Sasuke raised his hand to face, feeling the dark circles under his eyes, showing how he turned into just another ninja, who desperately needed some sleep. Last night was one of his good nights where he actually got some sleep, but still woke up early. Sasuke rid himself of his cloths and got into the shower. He loved the warmth of the shower water. It always helped him to relax.

As he began to lather shampoo in his hair, his mind wandered back to the dream that always occurred whenever he slept. It was the last mission he and Naruto had before Naruto died. That part of the fight always repeated itself in his mind, causing Sasuke to recall the memory of the ending. _The kunai rocketed its way towards Naruto, who had finally passed out from exhaustion. Sasuke jumped in the air and successfully deflected the kunai while throwing his own. Catching the enemy off guard, Sasuke's kunai hit the man squarely in the middle of the forehead._

_The enemy fell from the tree and landed, nothing more than a pile of limbs on the ground. Sasuke swept Naruto up in his arms and carried him back to Konoha. Two days later, Naruto was completely healed and anxious for another mission. _Sasuke had continued to wash his body, and smiled as he thought about how he and Naruto had spent time together as friends instead of rivals that entire week.

Everything about that week was perfect. Over ramen or even after training, they would sit and talk about whatever was on their minds. Sasuke's smile slid off his face as another memory plagued his mind. _The day before Naruto had died, Naruto had been incredibly angry all day long. He didn't talk to anyone at all. In fact, he avoided them. When Sasuke finally became fed up with Naruto's attitude, not to mention being lonely, Sasuke approached Naruto._

"_Naruto," Sasuke had said. "What is the matter with you? You've been acting like an ass all day."_

"_That's funny," Naruto replied. "That's usually your attitude." Naruto turned away; ready to jump to the closest tree and run, before Sasuke grabbed his shoulder._

"_Naruto. What is wrong?" Sasuke said in a harsh yet still caring voice. Naruto stayed silent for a moment, preoccupied with the dirt by his feet. That is, until he did the most unexpected thing Sasuke could have imagined. In one quick motion, Naruto turned around and **hugged** Sasuke. Sasuke was too shocked to say anything. Instead he just wrapped his arms around his smaller friend, feeling as if Naruto needed it right now._

"_I'm sorry Sasuke," Naruto said in a quiet, sorrowful voice. "You've been always been my best friend. You know that." _

At the time, those words made Sasuke's heart skip a beat with happiness, but now made him miserable, constantly reminding him of what he had lost. By now, Sasuke was completely dressed and ready to go. He tried to think of a different subject to occupy his attention, but he knew it wouldn't work. Snatching his equipment off his kitchen table, he started off towards the hokage tower to be assigned a new mission.


	3. Suprises in the Danger Zone

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Once again, I encourage all who like to leave reviews!! Also, I apologize in advance if the characters seem OOC and you don't like it… Also, I mention the "Sun Village". I understand that's a lame name, but just go with it.

"What?" Sasuke said in an extremely agitated voice. "You want me to go all the way to the Sun Village to pick a stupid package?"

Tsunade must really get a good laugh out of torturing him like this. Every time he stepped into her office she would always have a smug look on her face, which gave Sasuke a clue that he was not going to like whatever she was about to say. It never failed that he would always be stuck with a mission that involved a lot of walking and no battles at all. They were so dull!

"Don't argue Uchiha. Just do it," Tsunade said, fighting the urge to chuckle at the foul- tempered boy's expense.

Sasuke sighed and picked up his backpack with supplies that he dropped by the door when he first entered. As he exited through the gates of Konoha, he reached behind him and pulled out a scroll from his backpack, which had logically been placed on top of the rest of his belongings in case he needed it. It was a map of routes to various villages from Konoha. Sasuke traced the route he would take with his finger until something strange about his path caught his eye.

The trail started in a pretty straight line for a while, but then made a sharp right turn, which formed into a semi-circle around a piece of land. From there the trail continued straight again. The area was colored in a greenish, almost black color to warn ninjas that this was a danger zone and should be avoided. Next to the area that the Akatsuki occupied, this was another region which criminals resided. These criminals where called The Hunters, and were known to be established on senseless, meaningless violence in order to become rich.

Sasuke's frown became a smirk in finding this loophole in Tsunade's "Torture Sasuke" plan. Sasuke had not been in a real fight with someone in such a long time, he was practically craving it. After all, it would be faster to go straight through then around, right? Sasuke secured the scroll back in his backpack and hopped into the trees, anxious for a battle.

At The Hunter's Zone

Finally after hours of jumping from tree to tree, Sasuke had finally reached that invisible border that marked the entrance to the danger zone. The forest ahead of him compared to the one he had just traveled through appeared darker, like even nature wanted to give caution of the doom that lurked beyond. This normally would have been a sign to Sasuke to do the smart thing and turn around now before it was too late. Unfortunately, Sasuke's mind was Kakashi's when he didn't know where his Icha Icha Paradise book had gone. In laymen's terms, not thinking clearly at all.

Sasuke hadn't even taken ten steps into the dense forest until a kunai slit his cheek. Searching for the enemy, they had done exactly what Sasuke had expected them to do. Surrounded him. There were about nine ninja, kunai in hand, ready to strike any moment. From behind him, a kunai launched itself towards the back of his head. Sasuke smirked thinking about how horribly simplistic this pattern of attack was. Drawing out a kunai of his own, Sasuke prepared himself to deflect the already in air weapon, as well as the others sure to follow.

The kunai was a mere foot away from Sasuke when another kunai out of nowhere beat him too it. Both weapons hit the ground with a _clang _and Sasuke looked up to see a tenth ninja standing on a tree directly above him. How did he not sense this other ninja?

"That's enough," the man on the branch ordered. "You know your mission. Continue it. I will take it from here."

Sasuke smirked. "Alright then," he said. "An one on one battle it is."

Sasuke eyed the man who had decided to wage war with him. He had the same build as Sasuke, which didn't appear to be too strong; but looks could be misleading. He also wore black pants similar to Sasuke's, but with a black jacket with the symbol of a fox on his shoulders (Have you ever seen the fox racing logo? It's similar to that), and a white tee shirt underneath. 'This man must be a good ninja,' thought Sasuke. 'He's wearing the face mask that marks top hunters.'

Said mask was similar to the one's worn by the ANBU in Konoha, but this had a skeleton on it instead. The man's hood on his jacket was also pulled up over his head like the ANBU too. Sasuke was shaken out of his thoughts when the man jumped from the tree and stood in a fighting stance just a few meters away from him while the other ninja were evacuating the area. Sasuke turned on his Sharingan and waited for the first attack.

Much to his dismay, the first attack never happened. After about three minutes, the other man relaxed his posture, and chuckled slightly.

"Long time no see, huh Sasuke?" questioned the other man.

"Do we know each other?" Sasuke replied raising an eyebrow.

Sasuke's opponent raised his hands to his hood and pulled it down to reveal a head of blonde hair. 'It couldn't be, could it?' Sasuke thought, his heart beating faster with anticipation. As soon as the hood was down, the man brought a hand to his face and removed the mask. Clear blue eyes met Sasuke's gaze, and the man began to smile at the look of pure shock on Sasuke's face.

"No way," Sasuke whispered. "Naruto?"


	4. Dead Man Walking

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Review please! I love reading your comments!!

"Holy Crap," Sasuke started very softly. Before his shocked face could actually develop into the smile that he wanted, his face turned serious and angry.

"What the hell Naruto?" Sasuke said in a loud voice.

"What?" Naruto asked raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Unknown to him, Sasuke was having his insides torn two separate ways. Half of Sasuke was unbelievably thrilled that Naruto was still alive while the other half wanted to scream with anger that Naruto would walk out one day with out saying goodbye to anyone. Not even him!

"Sasuke? Are you…" Naruto started, but was quickly cut off by a fuming Uchiha.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing here? Everyone at home thinks you are dead!"

"Dead?" Naruto asked. "How do figure that without a body?"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. Naruto was completely missing the point!

"I don't know! Just… What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

A long pause from Naruto, along with a blank stare, ensured Sasuke that his question was not going to be answered. Sasuke opened his mouth to repeat the question when Naruto began to talk.

"It's nothing to worry about Sasuke. Just some… undercover work is all. You should go home before the hunters return."

And with that, Naruto placed his mask back to its original spot on his face, and jumped into a tree to leave. Sasuke, completely outraged by Naruto's indifference of the situation, swiftly jumped into the same tree and pinned Naruto against the trunk. Sasuke held Naruto's left forearm against the tree tightly and ripped off the mask to reveal Naruto's slightly fearful eyes looking back at him. Sasuke's fingers released the mask, which landed on the ground far below, and seized Naruto's other arm.

Naruto remained silent to prevent aggravating the other boy further. Sasuke's eyes suddenly softened, and he leaned in closer to Naruto's face until only a few inches separated them.

"Don't you even care?" Sasuke whispered.

Naruto couldn't breathe as he felt himself become momentarily frozen in time.

"I always knew what I was leaving behind when I left Konoha. But my reasons for leaving far outweighed my reasons for staying."

Sasuke shook his head slowly. 'What a safe ninja response. Completely avoiding the question,' he thought.

"Sorry Naruto. I can't let you go again," Sasuke said freeing Naruto's right arm.

Before Naruto could interject, Sasuke had completed the required hand signs, causing Naruto to pass out and slide down the tree onto the branch. Abandoning his mission, Sasuke pulled Naruto onto his back and began to run back to Konoha. Naruto's mask was left far behind in the dust.

At Konoha

Sasuke was exhausted from the run to beat the sunrise home. Making it into his apartment just in time, the sun peaked its head over the horizon. Placing Naruto gently down on his couch, Sasuke proceeded to tie Naruto up with chakra- enforced ropes. He knew the moment Naruto woke up he would try to escape again, and he couldn't let that happen. As if on cue, Naruto's eyes shot open as the jutsu wore off, and Naruto sat himself up.

Instead of a loud series of threats that Sasuke had expected, the glare Naruto sent him demanded everything that was not heard.

"Sasuke, you don't understand. You have to let me go," Naruto said trying to reason with Sasuke.

"If I don't understand, explain it to me," Sasuke said in defiance, determined to get what he wanted to know out of his captive.

Seeing as there was no other option, Naruto began to speak.

"Sasuke, I'm… I'm…"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke who was hanging on his every word. He didn't want to expose his secret, knowing that it would hurt the Uchiha more than anyone. They could pretend to be rivals all they wanted, but at the end of the day they were best friends. Naruto's face became very solemn, his eyes pleading to Sasuke once last time for his liberation.

Sasuke felt a pang of guilt and sorrow run through his body as Naruto's azul orbs tortured him. Refusing to let this bother him, he backed away a little, crossed his arms, and gave Naruto a look that clearly said 'Get on with it or you're going to be here a while'. The grim expression never leaving his face, Naruto briefly looked at the floor in thought, then back to Sasuke's face again.

"Sasuke I'm dying."


	5. The Death Clock is Ticking

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. And sorry it took ridiculously long for me to write it. Every time I wrote something it didn't sound right, and basically I was just being difficult with myself. Leave reviews!!

Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes, his heart and mind pleading in unison for his words to be a cruel joke or revenge for his captivity. Anything but the truth. Seeing no sign of deception, Sasuke's legs suddenly felt weak under his own weight, and he fell to the floor. How could this be? Was fate so against him that the moment he got Naruto back he would be taken away again?

The room remained silent for what felt like eternity. Sasuke felt the room begin to spin slightly, and he had to remind himself to breathe.

"Why?" Sasuke finally asked when his brain had caught up with the situation.

"Why what?" Naruto asked confused. Out of all the other questions he could have possibly asked… "Why what Sasuke? I don't understand the question."

Sasuke stayed quiet for a moment, appearing as if he was contemplating his own question, not understanding it himself.

"Why would leave all this time and not tell me you where at least okay? And when I finally do see you again, it's to tell me you're dying. Why would you do that to me?" Sasuke spoke hardly any louder than a whisper, staring at nothing in particular as if the question was not meant for Naruto, but to an angel of the imagination.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone, especially you. It was dangerous where I was going, and I was not going to let anyone die for me!" Naruto harshly responded.

Sasuke, still not finding the energy to fully stand quite yet, crawled over to Naruto and placed his hands on the ropes that bound Naruto to his place.   
"If I untie these ropes, will you stay a while?" Sasuke asked, still not raising his voice, only his eyes to meet Naruto's gaze. This would have been the perfect opportunity for any ninja to make a break for it, but seeing the true agony and trust in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto could not bring himself to do it.

"Please" Sasuke finished in a pleading tone.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Naruto answered, "Alright."

Sasuke unraveled the ropes and held them in his hands as he rested his head on the couch right next to Naruto, still remaining on the floor. He felt the aching behind his eyes where tears threatened to fall.

"Tell me what happened." Sasuke ordered.

Naruto sighed, then shifted his body so he would be lying down on the couch, his head closer to Sasuke now.

"You remember that fight from a few years ago?" Naruto started.

How could Sasuke forget? It was one of the worse days of his life. Never before had someone made him drive himself to the brink of insanity with guilt. Never before had anyone made his heart feel so wrenched out of its cold barrier.

"Yes… I do," Sasuke simply stated. He didn't like were this was going. Naruto reached his hand to his collar and pulled it down to reveal a scar across his heart. It remained red, almost new, as if he had received it days before.

"This was this scar that ninja gave me during the last battle we had together. Fond memories, huh?" Naruto chuckled slightly. At Sasuke's silence, he continued. "It turns out this slash contained poisons that should have killed me upon entering my body. Kyuubi has been keeping me alive this long, but I can feel myself growing weaker. I can't keep this up much longer. I've infiltrated the Hunter's base camp, hoping to find the antidote before it's too late…"

"And…what would happen if you were too late?" Sasuke said, already knowing the answer but pleading Naruto would prove him wrong.

"I'll die. I don't have a lot of time."

The room remained in a deafening silence, not even the boys' breathing could be heard. Sasuke drank all the information in, feeling his body become exhausted again just like the months after Naruto's "death" almost three years ago now. His suspicions have been confirmed. Naruto's death was going to be his fault because he couldn't protect him. He wasn't strong enough; he's never strong enough.

"What can I do?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, you are not coming with me. You could die and I…"

"Naruto, I have been sitting here for three years trying to make my mind understand that you were gone. I never saw it coming, and there was nothing I could do for you then. Now I know and there is something I can do for you now. Take me with you, I beg you."

Sliding of the couch into a cross-legged position on the floor, Naruto smiled at Sasuke. Oh how he missed that smile in this manic-depressive town.

"Your still my best friend, huh? Even after all I put you through, you would risk your life to help me?"

"Of course," Sasuke smiled back. Both of the boys sat in a silence for a few moments. This was one of the best things Sasuke considered about their friendship. There never really were any awkward silences with them. If it was quiet, it was quiet, nothing awkward about it.

"Sorry to break the moment, but I'm hungry," Naruto stated, standing. He practically skipped towards the kitchen, and opened up every pantry in the room.

"Where is all your ramen?" Yep. Naruto hasn't changed much.

"How about I make you dinner? You can stay with me and we can create a plan."

"Okey dokey," Naruto said, obviously not giving it much thought. 

"Dobe." Sasuke smirked.

"Teme." Naruto smiled.


End file.
